Flight research with the MIT Daedalus prototypeThe MIT Light Eagle human-powered aircraft underwent long-duration testing over Rogers Dry Lake in California during January, 1987. Designed as a prototype for the MIT Daedalus Project, the Light Eagle's forty-eight flights provided pilot training, established new distance records for human-powered flight, and provided quantitative data through a series of instrumented flight experiments. The experiments focused on: (1) evaluating physiological loads on the pilot, (2) determining airframe power requirements, and (3) developing an electronic flight control system. This paper discusses the flight test program, its results and their implications for the follow-on Daedalus aircraft, and the potential uses of the Light Eagle as a low Reynolds number testbed.
Document ID
19880027146
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Bussolari, Steven R. (Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Youngren, Harold H. (MIT Cambridge, MA, United States)
Langford, John S. (Institute for Defense Analyses Alexandria, VA, United States)